Today, the good news

Here's another shot of Archives hottie:

I'm beginning to think he doesn't have eyes from these pictures. This shot is in honour of the fact that he gave me $100 for the AIDS Walk. What the fuck is up with that? Is he crazy? He works for a charity, he has no money. I gave him like $75 for the bike ride to Toronto, and I'm just walking around the block. Yikes!
I also got $50 from my dad which is the most anyone has ever sponsored me before Archives hottie so I'm really breaking the bank this year. I've got $345! Every year my mom beats me by raising over $300 from people in Minden who don't have enough money to rub two sticks together. How? Dunno. Anyway, this year I beat her! Suck it mom!
Today I went with my dad to the park and lunch:

And I also got my computer back! Yahoo!
The negative thing is I had to give up my laptop to be fixed, so now I can't watch TV in bed with my glasses off for a whole week! Plus no Golden Girls! Will I live? We'll see.
I also went to pick up my refund for bathhouse the musical at Buddies. I went to the show last night and it was canceled with a sign on the door saying refunds Tues-Sat between 12 and 5. So I show up and they said they don't give refund on Saturdays. Why? Is it bad luck? So they said to come back during the week. Too bad I work for a living.
When I got back from lunch I was bored so I went down to the Archives and spent 7 hours listing their surplus items on eBay. I like doing it as I get to handle all the stuff and take a couple for myself occasionally, and I get the fun of watching my item price go higher and higher without spending money. But still 7 hours today and 5 hours yesterday is a long time. What did I do before the Archives? Oh yeah, drink a lot.

Things I shouldn't be posting

Here's the hottie:


Reasons I like him:
- he has tattoos
- he looks good in a suit
- he looks good out of a suit
- he is not afraid

Now if you promise not to tell I'll show you this:

Now I don't think the location is finalized, or the host (a woman DJ from Proud FM) or the price ($45). So say nothing, but mark the day on your calendar.

I think I need a motto. Abebooks.com has the motto: Cheap, Fast, Easy. I could use that.

Busy Beaver

Sometimes you don't blog because there's nothing to talk about, and sometimes you don't blog because you're so busy.

This is the later.

Yikes!
Went to see the 400 Blows, a classic French movie, on Tuesday.

That was probably the highlight of the week. I wouldn't be a good reviewer, I never know what to say. This movie was... good. I could indentify with portions, like when he's growing up and having trouble finding a place he fits in.

Wednesday was a photo shoot for Fab magazine and the prize I won. They took about 100 shots so expect to see one here next Thursday. Then off to a Final Fantasy concert. It was death.

Yesterday saw A Streetcar Named Desire. It was at a church and we were hanging around outside waiting to go in with a large group of men. Turns out we were waiting in line for the local AA meeting to start. Whoops.

The hottie I'm trying to whoo is 45 years old! How the Hell did that happen? I'll post a picture of him when I get my computer back.

In other news, him and I are going to see Johnny Hazzard:

Performing something called an "X-rated Show" at the bathhouse on Sat Sept 20. I have no idea what an x rated show is, but when in Rome....

Also check out this book:

How can a book with gay pirates be bad?

Writing Outside the Margins

Went to the Writing Outside the Margins literary festival today.
When I got there I saw the Children's tent:

Bustling with excitement. That was a good idea.
The main reason I went is to see John Cameron Mitchell:

He is a genius and the man who wrote and starred in my favourite movie of all time Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
For some reason he and the interviewer stood REALLY far away from each other:

But he was amazing. A real inspiration for gay men everywhere. He's very comfortable with himself and includes his sexuality in all his work.

The f is sticking on my laptop. Plus it's much slower than my desktop. I left it with my father to be fixed. I was thinking as I was riding home from his house last night. I remember a time in my life when I couldn't think of him without getting angry and now all that is forgotten (or orgotten, stupid keyboard). Not that anything really changed, but one thing I really like about getting older is how I can now see everyone as a person. That everyone has faults and everyone is trying their best with what their given.
Anyway, Todd Klinck was also there and I got him to sign his book. I believe its important to support local authors, especially when they run huge porn empires.
Stewart Lewis was also there:

He is the first person signed to the new Here! label, the first all gay TV network in the USA. So I wanted to hear him sing, as I was denied the chance when I went to see Jersey Boys on Thursday. Turns out he's an author too so he read from his books. They were ok, but at the end he was selling the book for $15 with a free copy of his CD! So I got it, I don't actually have a CD player right now, or a DVD player, but maybe some day!
My trip will be Paris and Amsterdam. Plan that for me would you?
Oh yes, last thing.
At the festival today they had an open mike session. That was death. I thought I should have brought something from my blog and read that. To me, what you're reading should be original, should be relateable, and a laugh couldn't hurt. These people had none of these things.
"My eggs
He swims to me
Yellow buttercup flowers
on a rainy day.
Lesbian in trouble.
Run."
There's a typical poem. Ugh. If I ever have 5 minutes, I may try to put something together to get published.
This week laundry, The 400 Blows at the Bloor, Archives, Final Fantasy concert, A Streetcar Named Desire (the play), Bathhouse the Musical and Avenue Q. And the CNE and a Labour Day parade.

Decisions, Decisions

I went to my dad's place for dinner and to look at some pictures. He's an amazing photographer and cook. The food was AMAZING and vegan. What else could I want?

I have a couple more things sorted out. I'm leaving October 10, returning Oct 19. I'm taking my friend Joe.

I think I have it down to two destinations. Either Moscow-St. Petersburg or Paris-Amsterdam. Let's price them out.

Paris-Amsterdam
Ok, first search, airfare is $5000. Bad.
With a stopover in Detroit, air is $2158 from Toronto to Paris, from Amsterdam to Toronto.
Leaves $2000.
Train to Amsterdam on Super Cheap is $100 for 2 people.
Paris hotel for 4 nights is about $1150 with an optional daily breakfast buffet for another $18.
Leaves $750
Amsterdam is like $900.
This could work.

Moscow-St. Petersburg
Air is $2500.
Leaves $1700
Flight from Moscow to St Petersburg is $220
Leaves $1500
Hotel is not going to happen for that price.
Hostel would be $300 for Moscow and $150.

Moscow



St Petersburg



Paris



Amsterdam

(Anne Frank house)

Argh!

I won a major prize, a trip to Europe for two worth $4,200.

Wow.

Now there's about 65 questions.

I have to go before the end of October. I currently have $0. I have 0 vacation. I could cancel my cruise in January but will I get a refund of my deposit? Can I rob a bank?

Who will I take? Will anyone be willing to go with me on such short notice? Where to go?

I'm thinking either England with a train to Cardiff or Moscow with a train to St. Petersburg.

UPDATE: I think I have the vacation and I know I have the money. I'm either going with my mom to England or with my friend Joe to Spain or Russia.

Upcoming Gay Books: Fall 2008

Try finding a review of upcoming gay books. Anywhere. In this age of information technology, the web is letting us down.
There is no concise way of finding out upcoming releases. I read in the local paper George Michael is writing a biography (Autumn 2009). OUT magazine recently had its fall book preview with 3 books. 1, 2, 3. I don't see why this can't be a full monthly magazine and I can't even find an article on it, so I decided to create my own preview. It's going to be selective, like leaving off the book written by the pregnant man, but it's still the best available.
If you know another source, let me know.

September 8 has Out of the Blue: Confessions of an Unlikely Porn Star by Blue Blake:

"Out of the Blue is a hilarious autobiographical romp that details the life of porn star turned director/producer Blue Blake and his adventures in the skin trade. Blue has worked with every major star in the industry and won many major awards and honors, including induction into the Gay Porn Legend Hall of Fame."

September 23 has the paperback of When You Were Me by Robert Rodi:

"In Rodi's tepid latest, Jack Ackerly, 53, has made a pile in public relations and earned himself a comfortable place among Chicago's gay A-crowd, but the recent decamping of his boyfriend, Wicker Park art dealer Harold "Harry" McGann, has left him aware of a hole in his life. At the other end of the social sphere, 26-year-old space cadet Corey Szaslow lives on the kindness of friends, getting by—just barely—on his looks. A crystal meth habit he's lately kicked has cost him most of his friends, and he's now wondering what it would be like to get a job, maybe some health insurance. They meet cute (Jack hits Corey's bicycle with his Porsche), the two quickly engage in an unholy plot to switch bodies via New Age witch Francesca LaBrash: Corey will be middle-aged and liver-spotted with a 36-inch waist and an uninspiring hard-on, but he'll be rich. Jack will be young once more and able to enjoy the promiscuous sex he denied himself while climbing the ladder of Mammon. Queer pulp favorite Rodi (Fag Hag, etc.) makes a rare misstep; Victorian satirist F. Anstey, who originated the body-switching genre with Vice Versa: A Lesson to Fathers in 1882, has a lot to answer for."

October 10 has Dirty White Boy, Tales of Soho by Clayton Littlewood:

"What is the correct etiquette for visiting a brothel? How should you react when a transsexual wants to show you her latest surgery? Is it appropriate to speak to television personalities when they’re buying underwear? These are the questions that matter in London's Soho neighborhood, where Clayton Littlewood runs designer clothing store Dirty White Boy. From his window on one of the busiest street corners in the world, Clayton watches the daily parade of fashion queens, prostitutes, gangsters and celebrities that make up the population of this strangest of villages. His Soho diary is a snapshot of modern London, caught between the ghosts of the past and the uncertainties of the future. The cast of characters range from Sue and Maggie, the girls from the brothel upstairs to Angela the feisty trannie to Pam the Fag Lady, begging for money and cuddles and Chico, the campest queen on Old Compton Street. Not to mention cameo appearances from stars (Kathy Griffin, Janice Dickinson and Graham Norton). And admist all this madness occurs one of the strangest and most touching love stories you will ever read."

Releasing October 28 is New Attitude: An Adult Paper Doll Book:


"You’ll love this new deluxe edition of an underground classic. Meet 37 outrageous, sexy, glamorous swinging singles and socialites at a fabulous Manhattan cocktail party hosted by "Aunt Mary." A parade of gay and lesbian stereotypes are trotted out in paper doll form for perusal in this reprint of the iconic, highly collectible Attitudes book first released by renown paper doll artist Tom Tierney in 1979. This new volume has been recreated, now in full color and with six new characters, to commemorate one of the early books in a long series of paper doll books for which Tierney has become famous. Enjoy hairdressers, movie stars, millionaires, models, drag queens, and others, each nearly naked in seductive lingerie, and with character appropriate clothing."

Also in October is X-Posed by Dylan Rosser:

"Dylan Rosser focuses on the purity and sensuality of the male form, often showing not much more than a smooth, sexy male body using light and shadow to accentuate the athletic curves and shapes of the models. The key idea of X-POSED is to keep it all nude, because as soon as items of clothing are added, one inevitably ends up with an image dated in time. But Rosser's aim is the timeless and classic."

and Micheal Lucas' Gigolos:

"Michael Lucas and his gigolos come from the upper crust of society. They live a life deluxe; glamorous and sexy. They come in all the varieties one can wish for. The muscular model and hung boy go hand in hand. Following the elaborate staged films that are as successful as award-winning, such as "Michael Lucas’ Dangerous Liaisons" and "Michael Lucas’ La Dolce Vita." Finally here it is: Michael Lucas, The Book."

November 11, 2008 brings us Uncensored Photography by Joe Oppedisano:

"A bold, masculine, and completely uncensored continuation of the best-selling photography book Testosterone, Joe Oppedisano's Uncensored is a journey of men and their deepest desires. From straightforward pinup portraits of uninhibited men and their raw sensuality to elaborate fantasies of bondage, sex, and ecstasy, Uncensored delivers the quality you've come to expect from Oppedisano and amplifies it ten-fold!
Uncensored documents Oppedisano as he bravely steps outside his realm of dark, erotically charged dungeons. Each page is injected with a compellingly tantalizing display of flesh as he embarks upon his mission with a successful mix of masculinity, sexuality, glam and ironic humor amidst stunningly bright locations. Rugged men openly engage in displays of bondage on urban sidewalks while muscular athletes are captured in breathtaking form surrounded by lush landscapes. Through the lens of his camera, Oppedisano opens a new door with Uncensored, which proudly takes audiences both new and old to another level of artistic vision only previously imagined.
Features some of today's hottest porn stars including Steve Cruz (cover model), Colton Ford, Tober Brandt, Jake Deckard, Erik Rhodes and more."

Also in November is Down the Rabbit Hole by Justin Monroe:

"Justin Monroe’s images tell entire stories. Tales of good and bad you don’t see from Hollywood. Like Alice in Wonderland, Monroe takes the viewer DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE and plunges him into a foreign, strange and weird world. This book is a roller-coaster ride through twisted worlds full of surprises. Fairytales where people freeze and life-sized dolls take over. But sexy dolls they are! Get prepared for thrilling new perspectives into the sexier part of the human psyche."
Featuring a nude Jesus:


TBA is Nazi Boy by William Maltese:

"Maltese once again intrigues, fascinates and, even, against all odds, arouses us, by capitalizing upon his fascination with the dark side of Hitler's Germany. NAZI BOY provides every indication that homosexuality continued to thrive, sometimes none too clandestinely, within the ranks of the Aryan elite even as less fortunate and less-well-connected gays were callously and hypocritically turned to smoke in the concentration camps of a Third Reich gone stark-raving mad."

Photo portfolio from my father

You ever notice how dogs are always looking like they're thinking "D'uh?" whereas cats always look like they're plotting revenge?

Crack down on drugs?

John Williams, MP

August 18, 2008

I am writing about the recent literature you sent me. First of all, I want to thank you for including me in this mailing, in Toronto of late it is difficult to get any information about the Conservative Party and as someone who voted for the Conservatives and Stephen Harper your flyer was appreciated.
I am writing with a concern I hope you will share. I realize it’s difficult to present your entire platform in the space of one piece of paper but I am worried you oversimplified some issues.
You seem to be using fear tactics with faceless "drug dealers in the schoolyard" preying on children in Canada. I question your words with offering these children "something new". I do not believe this is a common occurrence in Canadian schoolyards of today, this seems to be taken from a 1950's paranoia film. One would presume these people offering "something new" are fellow school children, are you proposing a plan that would arrest school children while they were at class? How would this be enforced?
I agree with your next point, "parents shouldn’t have to worry that their children will step on dirty needles that have been left in the park by heroin junkies" but I’m not sure where you’re going with this. Is there a party advocating that junkies should be allowed to leave needles in public places with impunity? Which one?
I also agree that families are being ripped apart by drug addiction. I would love some information on how I personally can make this stop happening, and how I can support your initiative to "get [junkies] off the streets and into programs".
I am not suggesting other parties aren’t using propaganda to push their own agendas but I really hope that although you seem to have oversimplified the issue, our common interests will prevail.
The best of luck,
Adam Dunn

Cleveland: Almost done!

I am poor. How poor? I have $40. I need $20 to get to the bus station tomorrow so it's a very good thing I'm done! I had planned to go to New York for my birthday to see Billy Elliott and now that is off, I can't do this again so soon. I enjoyed it, but now that I have so little money I'm glad its done.
I woke up this morning about 9 and headed to the free breakfast for a muffin, then I grabbed 2 more muffins and a banana which was dinner.
The driver was waiting for me at 11 which was cool, he was a really nice guy, he just looked scary. I got to the bus station and waited a couple hours and was off.
The bus driver I think it was his first minute on the planet as he made several u-turns and at one point went the wrong way down the highway for 30 minutes. The bus was full and when he asked people who knew the way to step forward and give him directions, that wasn't good.
We pulled in about 5:30 and I went to get a bus to the hotel, they run every half hour and it became clear I wouldn't be able to get to the hotel and back to the game in time.
They had lockers at the bus station and I rented one and then proceeded to try to stuff my things into it. It didn't fit so I had to unpack my bags to get it all in.
I then headed over to the stadium.

It was good, when I walked in I was really glad I was there.

Every stadium I go to I get the souvenir cup and the baseball card team set. The team set was on sale as a one-day promotion, I was just going to get it later off the net but it was less than $5. Then came the matter of the cup. It was $5 and I couldn't afford it so I ended up pulling one out of the trash and washing it in the bathroom. Bad times, but I got it!
They had a cool history section of the park:

and here's some more shots.



The Indians were playing the Orioles whom I liked better so I wasn't really rooting. The Orioles share the basement of the AL East, now with Toronto, and you have to root for teams that aren't the Yankees or the Red Sox, I like supporting the little guy.
After the game I headed over and picked up my stuff. As I was leaving this taxi hit me up for a ride and as I was getting in I saw this bus drive past. D'oh! Oh well, it would have been a mile walk after I got off the bus anyway. Now the bus only comes once an hour so I'll probably taxi it back in the morning, leaving me with an emergency $20! Let's hope there's no emergency.
I have like 30 channels and the best thing on is Revenge of the Nerds 3. Why do people own these things? Plus the internet keeps cutting out. Yipee.
Anyway, so I get to the hotel with $40 in my pocket and $68 on my credit card and luckily the front desk clerk was gay and sympathetic as my credit card failed. He explained that they hold an extra 10% for extras. I offered to put some on the card and pay the difference, he said they couldn't do that. D'oh! So luckily he booked me in at the special medical emergency rate which was lower and the charge went through! Hurray! So I got the gay discount and now I have $1 on my card and all will be well as long as I get home. Wish me luck! Tomorrow at 11:25 I'll be on the way!

Pittsburgh, or Mayberry

I woke up at 4:30 this morning. I was very glad I did it!
I stumbled out and walked around the corner to a hotel where they said taxis were parked 24 hours. There were none there. But one came about 10 seconds later.
I managed to thrust my bag into the trunk and the driver starts adding extra charges, $3 worth. I asked him why and he mumbled something about having a bag. So because of my suitcase I was charged an extra $3? I think it was the white tax, and the tourist tax.
So when I got to the station, I sincerely thanked him and then he tried to make off without giving me change.
The only bus that has left on time this whole trip was the one I missed by 2 minutes in New York City. Anyway, I slept most of the way, it was ok.
I get to Pittsburgh and nothing. I'm in the middle of nowhere, I can't even see a road, no transit, no taxis. I asked a couple people where the transit was, no one knew. I had to hurry as it was already 1:15 and the Warhol museum closes at 5.
I found some taxi numbers on the wall, 3 of them, and called them all. The first one was long distance, the other two didn't work. I went to the ticket counter and begged for help. The woman behind the counter had a harem of men she wanted to call who drove cabs and called them all. The fourth one said yes and 45 minutes later a car pulls up with a driver who looks like he just got out of San Quentin, not a taxi. I strapped my seatbelt on a prayed for my life.
I get to the hotel at about 2:30:

Notice how it also is in the middle of nowhere. The woman says I have to sit down and wait until check in time at 3 pm. I asked if I could leave my bags as I had to get to the Warhol museum and she relents and gives me a room. I quickly hook up my computer at 2:52 and find there's a bus at 2:57 so I run out the door but I don't know which side of the street to stand on. I run back in to ask and the woman is on a personal call talking about her man getting out of prison. Does anyone understand the concept I'm in a hurry?
So I step outside and pick a side of the road and watch the bus go by on the other side. Sigh.
I went back in the lobby and asked the woman to call a taxi. Now she's busy being yelled at by the manager but she manages to call. 10 minutes go by and I ask how long they said it was going to be. "Oh, 45 minutes" she says. "It is rush hour!" It's 3:10 pm. Sigh.
So I told them to cancel it, hop on the bus and get to the museum at 4. Some things I saw on the way:


Once inside there's nobody at the ticket desk and people walking all over. I figured maybe they had that thing where the last hour was free and I couldn't really afford the $15 so I head over to the elevator and press up. I'm like, "Come on, come on!" and just as it arrives, this woman comes over and asks if I paid. D'oh. Embarrassing. I was so close!
I've got like $68 on my card and the room tomorrow is $54. Tax and exchange... with luck it will go through.
You're not allowed to take pictures of course but I found this on the net:

Eleven Elvis's, in silver representing the silver screen. The Museum was great, even though I saw it on the run. Warhol was shot by a violent lesbian feminist and a movie was made about it called "I Shot Andy Warhol" which I now want to see. He was close friends with Dorothy Kilgallen from "What's My Line?" and they talked on the phone daily which I never knew. They had an excellent Polaroid Warhol took of Keith Haring and a post card from Keith Haring to Warhol while on vacation. Here's another photo of them, not one from the exhibition:

Warhol kept boxes of paper and notes and letters and this postcard from Haring was found in one of them. Warhol had 600 boxes at his death and only 90 have been opened so next year the museum will be opening them and cataloging them, they say it will take until 2012.
I was wondering why I've never seen a Warhol of James Dean and found this on the net:

Is it really Warhol? It looks like him, but what about the Asian symbols? Were they added later or are they part of it for some reason? Don't know. And why have I never seen it?
They also had works by new artists and local artists, really a great place, I could have spent all day. In the end they ended up throwing me out of the gift shop to close.


I had a little time to kill before the game so I walked the route back to the bus. When I got on the bus I asked when the last one back was and the driver said "Oh, at least 10." Turns out it was 9:30.
The subway is free and unmaned but I found a map of the bus route and schedule and tried to find out where the bus would be and found out. On the way I walked over the bridge and saw the ball park:

and this cool building:

and I sat in this park with this sculpture, part paying homage to the working man and part dreaming of being somewhere tropical with palm trees:


and this rabbit was eating grass in the park, he kept me company which was cool:

The bunny is in the bottom right corner:

Anyway finally got to the park:

It was quite nice with a great view of the city behind it:

Check out the building on the right, it looks like a castle:

They were quite big on the pirate theme being the "Pittsburgh Pirates" and all:

I sat really close for $27 which was good:

Here they have the ushers 'show' people to their seats in the lower levels and they expect a tip afterward but I haven't given one yet. How much? It seems silly.
I forgot Adam LaRoche is now a Pirate and was looking forward to seeing him but the radio said he was injured and should be back tomorrow so I missed him, but his brother Andrew was there.


I left after the 7th inning and listened to the game on the walk back to the bus stop. Pirates won 5-2. None of the stands sold souvenir cups so I thought I was SOL but as I was walking out I saw a plastic cup with the Pirates logo on it so I grabbed it. Someone may have said "Hey!" and a child may have started crying but I was late and figured it could have been about something else so I made a beeline.
Upon arriving at the stop I noticed a road was closed and the bus could not follow the route on the map. Then I noticed that none of the streets had street signs, common in the States, so I had no idea where the bus was going to stop. So I ran back and forth between two possible options and asked 3 policemen and four bus drivers and none of them knew. But I did catch the bus and all is well.
It's like 2:15, I've really taken advantage of FINALLY having the internet again but I gotta sleep!
Tomorrow morning I get up at 9, repack my bags and have breakfast and then the man from San Quentin is coming back to pick me up at 11, check-out time. My bus leaves at 1:20 so judging by how slow these people go, that should leave me enough time to call another cab if he doesn't show. His price was only $15 and he didn't expect a tip and the drive was kind of far so I figured I couldn't be picky.
Then off to Cleveland, arriving at 4. I can't afford to stay the weekend after all so I should be leaving at 11:30 am on Friday and home Friday night. I can't believe it, it feels like I'll never be home!
Turns out being on vacation is more fun when you have money, who knew?